The young lady is delicate and soft, yet she criticizes the powerful minister for bowing and scrapin

To Wei Ruolan's utter surprise, Qi Yunli seemed to have anticipated her push, and suddenly dodged to the left and stood aside.

Wei Ruolan's push missed its mark entirely, causing her to lose her balance and fall forward uncontrollably.

Her embroidered shoes slipped lightly on the jade bridge, and she fell straight into the lake below.

"ah--!"

Wei Ruolan screamed and stared incredulously at Qi Yunli on the bridge.

The stream in spring may not look deep, but it is actually bone-chillingly cold. The winter chill has not yet dissipated, and the roots of the willows on both banks have penetrated deep, making the current seem poised to swallow Wei Ruolan whole.

"Sister! Sister!" Qi Yunli cried out in a panic, "How could you have fallen like that?!"

As she spoke, she looked anxiously at the young men of Fengyue Pavilion and pleaded for help:

"My elder sister is the legitimate daughter of the second branch of the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion! Someone, please save her! Someone come quick!"

Upon hearing that it was related to the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion, the young men's minds began to stir. The eldest son's family had no daughters, so the eldest daughters of the second and third sons were highly sought-after individuals who could establish connections with the Marquis's mansion.

Some people were already eager to try, rolling up their sleeves and wanting to jump into the water.

If we could save the eldest daughter of the Marquis's family, marry her, and become her son-in-law, wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?

Seeing Wei Ruolan fall into the water from afar, the second wife rushed over, disregarding her dignity as a lady, and hurriedly stopped the young men:

"No need, no need! We brought our own servants."

She didn't want just anyone to marry her daughter.

When a woman falls into the water, even through her clothes, her figure is inevitably revealed. Any man who jumps in to save her is seen by the world as having had physical intimacy with her and therefore being responsible for her.

Upon hearing the Second Madam's words, the young men stopped what they were doing. Her implication was clear: she did not want outsiders to interfere. If they insisted on jumping down, they would be seen as being tactless and offending the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion, which would be a loss for them.

So everyone could only stand there and watch, their eyes filled with regret as they gazed at the beauty in the water.

Wei Ruolan's lips were already purple from the cold. She looked at the people on the bridge who could have saved her, but her mother refused to budge. The biting cold seeped into her bones, and the flowing water tugged at her skirt.

"Mother...!" Her teeth chattered violently, "...Save me..."

The water flowed gently, though somewhat swiftly. Wei Ruolan's eyes reddened, her heart filled with immense grievance and anger.

Tears streamed down her cold cheeks, leaving warm, damp trails. Only one name came to her mind.

"Brother Chang, save me! Brother Chang! Save me!"

The man she admired was none other than the eldest son of the Duke of Qi.

Qi Yunli quickly said, "Sister, don't worry, I'll find someone to rescue you right away!"

After saying that, she turned and left the Jade Bridge. The anxious expression on her face gradually faded after she left the bridge.

Before long, several maids from the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence went into the water. One lifted her arm, and another lifted her leg, pulling Wei Ruolan ashore like a pig being submerged in a cage.

She burst into tears as soon as she got ashore, pointing the finger at Qi Yunli for pushing her.

The second wife tightly covered her mouth and whispered, "In front of everyone, I saw you fall down by yourself. Now you want to cling to the label of being shrewish and unreasonable?"

However, Qi Yunli could no longer hear these sounds from the other side.

She put on the veil she had sewn herself a few days earlier and observed the movements of the guests coming and going.

Young men from families with some power or influence often gathered at Fengyue Pavilion; others from ordinary families stayed closer to the rockery, chatting in small groups.

Near the artificial hill were mostly people who had passed the imperial examinations in the same year, chatting about the arduous tasks of working in the Hanlin Academy, occasionally glancing enviously at those occupying the main seats in the Fengyue Pavilion.

"They come from a family of scholars; we would need to accumulate merit and fame for generations to match them."

"Alas, there's nothing we can do. It's all about timing and fate. They were lucky to be born into this world."

"There's no need to sigh and complain. How could anyone easily surpass the power and influence that their ancestors painstakingly accumulated? It's already quite an achievement that we're standing here. It took us three years and three more years of imperial examinations to finally enter the Hanlin Academy. If we work hard, our descendants will one day become members of a scholarly family because of our efforts."

Someone said sourly, "Brother Shen, you are naturally different from us. You are already a ninth-rank registrar, with an official position. Those of us who passed the imperial examination are waiting for appointment in the Hanlin Academy. We don't know when a vacancy will appear for us to climb up step by step. Some people are over thirty when they pass the imperial examination, and they come from ordinary families and can't rely on marriage to climb the social ladder. Unlike you, who are not yet married and still have the opportunity to become the favorite husband of the noble ladies in the capital."

Shen Junshan simply smiled, took a few steps back, and said nothing more.

Qi Yunli saw that refined and slender face from afar, which glowed slightly as they spoke.

She recognized him. It was Shen Junshan, the refined scholar from a humble background, a ninth-rank registrar, depicted in the scroll.

Shen Junshan glanced out of the corner of his eye and caught sight of a slender woman's figure.

The woman wore no jewelry, only a veil, and a jade hairpin carved into the shape of a flower in her hair.

Her eyes were fixed on the artificial hill on the other side. Water flowed gently down the hill, and she was so engrossed in watching it that she slowly walked over, stood on tiptoe, and reached out to touch the water flowing at the foot of the hill.

That hand had incredibly long, slender, and well-proportioned fingers. The skin was fair and delicate, almost translucent in the flowing water.

At this moment, she was bending slightly over, reaching out to touch the surface of the artificial rockery, her fingers gently tracing the uneven texture of the rock.

The white veil hanging down her face also moved forward gently with her movements.

The face, which was originally covered up completely, now revealed a small portion of its left cheek.

Her eyes are slightly upturned at the corners, and even with only half of her face showing, one can still glimpse her beauty.

The white veil on her face swayed gently in the breeze, brushing against her cheeks, creating a unique and hazy charm.

Shen Junshan held his breath.

Perhaps he had been staring at him for too long and was too engrossed, for the woman noticed him and turned to look at him with a surprised expression.

"Miss... I meant no offense. I was just curious about what you were doing."

Shen Junshan realized that staring at the girl was very impolite, so he had to explain himself first to avoid being misunderstood as frivolous.

Qi Yunli blinked in confusion, then smiled slightly: "It was I who mistakenly entered the place where you gentlemen were talking. I just saw that the rockery here was very exquisite, so I came over to take a look. I didn't expect to disturb you."

As she spoke, she shifted her body slightly to the side, using Shen Junshan's figure to block the gaze of others.

Shen Junshan appears frail in the painting, but in reality, his build and frame are no different from an ordinary man's, enough to completely conceal her figure.

"My name is Shen Junshan. May I ask... if you may know the young lady's name?"

"Yun Li, Qi Yun Li. I currently live in the Dingyuan Marquis's residence, and I am the second wife's niece."

She speaks gently, with clear and distinct pronunciation; each utterance, her sweet voice soothes the soul, making one's heart leap with joy.

Qi Yunli gave a slight bow: "Goodbye, Young Master Shen. The banquet is about to begin, and I must return to my aunt's side, lest she be unable to find me."

Having said that, she turned and left in a hurry. In her haste, the veil on her face was blown off by the wind and fell to the ground.

"Miss Qi..." Shen Junshan called out from behind, but the girl was too anxious and didn't even notice her veil falling to the ground.